San Ysidro border closes to cars for 57 hours this weekend

During the 57-hour closure, vehicles heading to Mexico will be diverted on SR 905 to the Otay Mesa border crossing.

The closures are expected to affect tens of thousands of people who commute across the global line on a regular basis.

The closure of southbound Interstate 5 and I-805 starts on Saturday at 03:00 (08:00GMT), and remains in effect until noon on Monday.

Northbound traffic into San Diego through San Ysidro will not be affected and pedestrians can cross in both directions.

California officials are warning of travel chaos over the weekend, as one of the largest land border crossings in the world closes for construction.

The construction work occurring during the 57-hour period involves the disassembling of an existing southbound vehicle inspection canopy on I-5. Additional road work and installation of underground utilities also will take place as part of around-the-clock operations during the closure.

That lane reduction, from five to three, will remain in effect until November 21, allowing for road improvements and infrastructure work.

The closures are part of a project that will double the number of southbound lanes - from five to 10 - from the United States into El Chaparral in Tijuana.

The California Department of Transportation and the San Diego Association of Governments are working with GSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build Otay Mesa East, a new border crossing station that will be located two miles east of the existing Otay Mesa Port.

The $741m (£546m) expansion project is expected to cause traffic delays until it is completed in 2019.